Colorado was Top Winning State at National Beer Competition

September 28, 2009

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Denver, Colorado — September 26, 2009 –The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) Competition continued its record setting ways, crushing last year's entries by 16%. GABF remains the largest commercial beer competition in the world with 3,308 entries.

Colorado and California typically dominate the competition each year for the most medals won by each state, with Colorado breweries and brewpubs coming out ahead for 2009. The top five medal winning states were: CO (45), CA (39), OR (22), WA (13), PA (12).

The GABF competition attracted 132 international beer judges from ten countries. Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 78 beer categories, establishing the best examples of each style in the U.S.

2009 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the YearCoors Brewing Company, Golden, CO; Dr. David Ryder

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the YearSponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD; Robert Malone

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the YearSponsored by Microstar Keg ManagementDry Dock Brewing Company, Aurora, CO; Dry Dock Brewing Team

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the YearSponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.Chuckanut Brewery, Bellingham, WA; Will Kemper

Gold, silver and bronze medals were also awarded in the GABF Pro-Am competition, which pairs amateur brewers with professional brewers, who scale up the award-winning homebrew recipes. American Homebrewers Association member Ben Miller teamed up with Chama River Brewing Co. in Albuquerque, N.M. to win gold for Herbal Joe's Columbarillo IPA.

The most competitive category was American Style India Pale Ale with 134 entries. The gold medal went to Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA for Union Jack for the second straight year. The second most hotly contested category was Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer with 110 entries (up from 79 in 2008). The gold medal went to Arcadia Brewing Co., Battle Creek, MI for Cereal Killer Barleywine.

2009 GABF Top Medal Winning States

State

# of Medals Won

% of Total Medals Awarded

Total # of Entries

% of Entries in the Competition

Colorado

45

19%

459

14%

California

39

16%

594

18%

Oregon

22

9%

172

5%

Washington

13

5%

162

5%

Pennsylvania

12

5%

126

4%

Michigan

9

4%

138

4%

New York

8

3%

117

4%

Virginia

8

3%

58

2%

Illinois

7

3%

93

3%

Maryland

7

3%

63

2%

Great American Beer Festival 2009 Statistics

457 breweries in the festival hall 2,100 beers served at the festival 49,000 attendees (includes brewers, volunteers and ticket holders) 3,000 volunteers 495 breweries in the competition 3,308 beers judged in the competition 78 categories judged + Pro-Am category 132 judges from ten countries Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 42 Category with highest number of entries: 134, American Style India Pale Ale